Review: The Dragon Warrior by Katie Zhao

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,
The Dragon Warrior by Katie Zhao

The Dragon Warrior
Katie Zhao
Bloomsbury USA Kids
Published October 15, 2019

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About The Dragon Warrior

As a member of the Jade Society, twelve-year-old Faryn Liu dreams of honoring her family and the gods by becoming a warrior. But the Society has shunned Faryn and her brother Alex ever since their father disappeared years ago, forcing them to train in secret.

Then, during an errand into San Francisco, Faryn stumbles into a battle with a demon–and helps defeat it. She just might be the fabled Heaven Breaker, a powerful warrior meant to work for the all-mighty deity, the Jade Emperor, by commanding an army of dragons to defeat the demons. That is, if she can prove her worth and find the island of the immortals before the Lunar New Year.

With Alex and other unlikely allies at her side, Faryn sets off on a daring quest across Chinatowns. But becoming the Heaven Breaker will require more sacrifices than she first realized . . . What will Faryn be willing to give up to claim her destiny?

Inspired by Chinese mythology, this richly woven contemporary middle-grade fantasy, full of humor, magic, and heart, will appeal to readers who love Roshani Chokshi and Sayantani DasGupta.

My Review

This book was such a fun adventure. It reminded me a lot of the books by Rick Riordan, only instead of meeting Greek or Egyptian gods and goddesses, the characters in THE DRAGON WARRIOR meet Chinese gods and goddesses.

I found myself wishing the book had a glossary list of each god and goddess with a couple sentences about them (note: I read a pre-release version, so it may be that the finished copy has this). For the most part I was able to follow them in the story and keep them all straight, but I’m not as familiar with the mythology as I am with Greek mythology.

On the whole, I think readers who enjoy books like A WRINKLE IN TIME or THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL will enjoy this fast-paced adventure.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
Main Characters are Chinese American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Faryn is part of a group of warriors who train to defeat demons, which appear on earth to cause mischief. She begins to encounter not only demons and dragons but other gods and goddesses who seek to either help or thwart her mission.

Violent Content
Battle scenes and situations of peril. No gore.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE DRAGON WARRIOR in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Speak Your Mind by Allyson Kennedy

Young Adult/Teen 12-18

Speak Your Mind
Allyson Kennedy
Published November 24, 2018

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About Speak Your Mind

No friends. No confidence. All mind.

Victoria Harding—the scared-silent girl of Grahamwood Junior High—survives the seventh grade from the confines of her mind. After her best friend moved away due to a secret Victoria can’t reveal, she’d rather sit alone at lunch and live in her imagination than befriend the classmates who joke that she’s plotting violence against the school. Between being called names and having a teacher who’s out to get her, Victoria’s confidence is at an all-time low, until she’s volunteered to escort her new neighbor around school. With the new kid showing up everywhere, will she finally find the courage to be heard again through their forged friendship? Will she forever be locked within the restrictive cage her doubts have created, or will she realize that relying on God is the only way to defeat her anxiety once and for all?

My Review

I’m kind of a sucker for the sweet, quiet girls who like rules– probably because I can really identify with that kind of person. Sometimes rules just make us feel safe.

Victoria is a layered character with a lot to offer. She’s got hurts and passions and so much inside her all bottled up. I liked that the events in the story gave her opportunities to push past her comfort zone and speak up, and that doing so created some really positive changes in her life.

But it sure wasn’t easy. And we sure didn’t have the whole story at the beginning! I think the way information is revealed– the pacing of it– was great in SPEAK YOUR MIND. It felt like all the pieces came together so that Victoria’s feelings and struggles made even more sense when everything came to light.

I have mixed feelings about the way that school administrators responded to the situation, though. It just seemed a little strange and maybe too gossipy? I also wondered why her parents didn’t ask for her to have a schedule change to address the conflict Victoria was having.

On the whole, though, I felt like SPEAK YOUR MIND was a fun read with sweet characters and positive lessons about confidence and speaking up.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
I think the major characters are white and Christian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Scenes show Victoria at church and youth group. Some references to prayer. She faces criticism for her faith from an adult in authority over her.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of SPEAK YOUR MIND in exchange for my honest review.

Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)
Sabaa Tahir
Razorbill Press
Published April 28, 2015

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About An Ember in the Ashes

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

My Review

I feel like the last person in the world to finally read AN EMBER IN THE ASHES. I’ve had a copy for years, and still, it took me forever. Not for any reason to do with the book. I heard Sabaa Tahir speak in 2016 at YALLFEST, and have been a fan of hers since then. For some reason, it has just taken me FOREVER to read her books. Can I just pretend I’ve been waiting until the fourth book is published before starting the series so I can binge read them? (Actually, no, I can’t, because the fourth one doesn’t come out until next year.)

Anyway, I really enjoyed the setting of AN EMBER IN THE ASHES. I like the desert setting and the complex political landscape. It’s not as simple as the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad. I liked that a lot.

And the character development. Laia grows SO much from the first page of the book to the last, and I love that. I found it so easy to identify with her timidity and her commitment to rule-following and staying safe at the beginning of the story, but I cheered for her every step of her journey, too, as she got bolder and more fierce.

I love that the story feels like it has so many layers, too. Laia and Elias each have goals and plans. The resistance has a plan. The emperor has a plan. And the Augers (like fates) have a plan, too. It definitely makes the story feel larger-than-life and like there are so many places it can go.

I think readers who enjoyed the DIVERGENT series by Veronica Roth or THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Mass will like AN EMBER IN THE ASHES.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Laia has bronze skin and dark hair and is from an oppressed and often enslaved people called Scholars.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Some references to sex.

Spiritual Content
One character uses magic to heal another. Augers relay prophesies about certain characters.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
Soldiers execute family members of a suspected traitor and threaten to rape another. Laia becomes a slave to a cruel master who mutilates her slaves. Some graphic descriptions of those instances. A man tries to rape a woman after beating her.

Elias belongs to an elite unit of soldiers which uses extreme methods of discipline as part of training, including making soldiers watch/jeer at a younger trainee being whipped to death for trying to run away. He participates in some violent challenges which pit him against his peers.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg

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The Music of What Happens
Bill Konigsberg
Arthur A. Levine Books
Published February 26, 2019

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About The Music of What Happens

Max: Chill. Sports. Video games. Gay and not a big deal, not to him, not to his mom, not to his buddies. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn’t want to think about, ever.

Jordan: The opposite of chill. Poetry. His “wives” and the Chandler Mall. Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won’t like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he’s the only one who can keep the family from falling apart.

Throw in a rickety, 1980s-era food truck called Coq Au Vinny. Add in prickly pears, cloud eggs, and a murky idea of what’s considered locally sourced and organic. Place it all in Mesa, Arizona, in June, where the temp regularly hits 114. And top it off with a touch of undeniable chemistry between utter opposites.

Over the course of one summer, two boys will have to face their biggest fears and decide what they’re willing to risk — to get the thing they want the most.

My Review

I think I’m totally a sucker for a book with great voices in it. You know those books where you can tell whose point-of-view you’re reading because each character talks and thinks in a way that’s uniquely them? THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS totally has that, and I love it. I bought in to Max and Jordan’s stories and their very different lives with single moms and with their very different friend circles. Honestly, I couldn’t get enough.

I loved that THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS made use of stereotypes to help us understand some minor characters but also used the character cast to challenge stereotypes and assumptions. A few times I found myself re-examining a conversation or situation and thinking of things from a new perspective because of a point Max or Jordan made, and I love that, too. Love that the story makes me think in unexpected ways.

One thing I didn’t like so much was the amount of profanity. I get that people really talk that way, and maybe using the words makes it feel more authentic, but sometimes it felt like overkill to me. Like, we get who these guys are, we don’t need quite so many reminders everywhere. But that’s a personal preference for me.

On the whole, I really enjoyed THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS. I think I have at least one other book by Konigsberg, so I’m eager to check that one out soon.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16up.

Representation
Both main characters are gay. Max’s mom is Mexican. A couple side characters are also Latinx.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently. Some crude language used as well.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning
A couple references to arousal. Some hints or statements that characters have had sex, but no descriptions of the event itself. Some descriptions of kissing and cuddling.

One character shares memories of being raped. The sexual part isn’t described in detail, but the way the character feels comes across very strongly. Sensitive readers or readers recovering from trauma may find those scenes difficult to read.

Spiritual Content
Jordan briefly talks about his mom going through a phase in which she was very interested in Christianity.

Violent Content
One boy punches another in the face and misaligns his jaw.

Drug Content
Max drinks a few beers to loosen up at a party. Another boy offers him pot, but Max declines, though he’s in the room when the other boy smokes it.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

The Quiet You Carry
Nikki Barthelmess
Flux Books
Published March 5, 2019

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About The Quiet You Carry

Victoria Parker knew her dad’s behavior toward her was a little unusual, but she convinced herself everything was fine—until she found herself locked out of the house at 3:00 a.m., surrounded by flashing police lights. 

Now, dumped into a crowded, chaotic foster home, Victoria has to tiptoe around her domineering foster mother, get through senior year at a new school, and somehow salvage her college dreams . . . all while keeping her past hidden.

But some secrets won’t stay buried—especially when unwanted memories make Victoria freeze up at random moments and nightmares disrupt her sleep. Even worse, she can’t stop worrying about her stepsister Sarah, left behind with her father. All she wants is to move forward, but how do you focus on the future when the past won’t leave you alone?

My Review

Victoria knows nothing about life in a foster home until a misunderstanding with her dad sparks a series of events that land her in one. Now, Victoria faces her senior year alone, in a small town, in a highly structured foster home, with all her college dreams in jeopardy. As Victoria makes new friends and works to solidify her future plans, she struggles with memories of what happened at home. She resists the memories at first, just wanting to keep her head down and wait out the clock until she turns 18 and can go wherever she chooses. But as the pieces of the night she left home begin to fall into place, Victoria faces shocking revelations about herself, her parents, and the stepsister she left behind.


Though she’s a good kid with goals and a future in order, Victoria can be a bit pushy and abrasive. She makes selfish choices and stomps on the feelings of others when what they want contradicts her own needs or desires. Through her experience in the foster care system, she learns to consider others’ perspective, and realizes that her initial understanding of events and people isn’t always based on the truth. This story contains some brief strong descriptions of sexual abuse, and some references to physical and emotional manipulation and abuse. Readers who enjoyed A LIST OF CAGES by Robin Roe or In Another Life by C. C. Hunter will enjoy the exploration of found families and ultimately positive portrayal of foster or adoptive homes.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Very little in terms of character descriptions.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some brief but graphic descriptions of sexual abuse. Brief kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Victoria visits church with her foster mom, but no focus on any spiritual components of the experience.

Violent Content
Some situations of danger.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE QUIET YOU CARRY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis

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Give the Dark My Love (Give the Dark My Love #1)
Beth Revis
Razorbill Press
Published September 25, 2018

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About Give the Dark My Love

When seventeen-year-old Nedra Brysstain leaves her home in the rural, northern territories of Lunar Island to attend the prestigious Yugen Academy, she has only one goal in mind: learn the trade of medicinal alchemy. A scholarship student matriculating with the children of Lunar Island’s wealthiest and most powerful families, Nedra doesn’t quite fit in with the other kids at Yugen, who all look down on her.

All, except for Greggori “Grey” Astor. Grey is immediately taken by the brilliant and stubborn Nedra, who he notices is especially invested in her studies. And that’s for a good reason: a deadly plague has been sweeping through the North, and it’s making its way toward the cities. With her family’s life–and the lives of all of Lunar Island’s citizens–on the line, Nedra is determined to find a cure for the plague.

Grey and Nedra continue to grow closer, but as the sickness spreads and the body count rises, Nedra becomes desperate to find a cure. Soon, she finds herself diving into alchemy’s most dangerous corners–and when she turns to the most forbidden practice of all, necromancy, even Grey might not be able to pull her from the darkness.

My Review

When I first heard about GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE, I tried really hard to get hold of a review copy. I’d met Beth Revis at a book con and she’s one of the most amazing people– super genuine and open and really kind– and I’d read and enjoyed her books before, so it was kind of a no-brainer! Alas, I did not get a review copy, so fast forward to much later when I decided to treat myself to a copy of the book care of a birthday gift card. Yay!

First, I love the unique story world. The mystery surrounding the plague and the backstory about necromancy plus the opportunity Nedra gets to study alchemy at an elite school. It all fit together really well and gave the story a really unique feel to it. Nedra and Grey pretty much both had me hooked from their first few pages. I love her passion for helping others. I love his integrity.

There are definitely some dark elements to the story, and the good versus evil lines get pretty complicated, so that’s something to consider if that matters to you. I like complex characters, so I enjoyed the bends in the story, and I’m super eager to read the sequel, BID MY SOUL FAREWELL, which came out September 24, 2019. I already have a copy and want to read it while the first book is still fresh in my mind.

If you liked THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan or TO BEST THE BOYS by Mary Weber, then you’ll want to grab yourself a copy of GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE as fast as you can. All of them have intricate and original fantasy worlds with strong female characters faced with impossible choices.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Nedra’s sister Nessie likes both boys and girls.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. A couple sleep in the same bed. One student makes lewd comments about Nedra, insinuating that she’s sleeping with her professor in order to get good grades.

Spiritual Content
A powerful necromancer once raised an army of the dead but was later hanged for his actions. Necromancy remains forbidden. Most people worship the god Oryous. Ritual celebrations and prayers are shown in the story.

Violent Content
Some battles shown. Situations of peril. Families of plague victims are made to lock themselves in their houses on quarantine as neighbors threaten to shoot them if they emerge before the quarantine ends.

Drug Content
Some reference to drinking wine.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.